L.A. Says Farewell

Senta · April 23, 2009, 01:15:05 AM

A Tusch Bestowed...

..And a Laureate Too

On Sunday, Esa-Pekka Salonen led his final program as MD in LA to capacity crowds packed in to say farewell to the longest serving music director in the orchestra's 90-year history.

After nearly a quarter hour of bows and ovations, upon his final entrance to the stage the brass and timpani performed an honorary "tusch" in salute from reports. I had not heard of this practice before, but discovered it is, "the German word for a musical flourish or brass fanfare, and a tradition going back among European trumpeters and other brass and wind instrumentalists to at least the 17th century." It is considered one of the rarest and highest honors fellow musicians can bestow upon a player or conductor.

Prior to the concert, the LA Phil's President announced Salonen's appointment as Conductor Laureate for life, a first for the orchestra. He will appear again as a guest in LA during the 2010-2011 season.

Beautiful pictures from the concert at the links above. LA Times has the roundup of tributes and outpourings from collaborators and more.

LA Phil has a minisite as well (http://www.celebratesalonen.com/) with lots of archive goodies, including live concert material, interviews, past programs (all 17 yrs of them!), and previously unseen video footage from tours, rehearsals and documentaries. Percy Adlon's Maestro in Hollywood and Mykknen's One Minute, Maestro are recommended from the earlier years; as is the recent dual interview with E-P and Dudamel where the humor and joy they share are infectious.

Anyone here in the LA area get to attend any of the last two weekends?

springrite · April 23, 2009, 01:25:15 AM

Wish I was there!

Sorin Eushayson · April 23, 2009, 04:32:35 AM

They had been advertising this concert for some time here in Los Angeles, but I was not aware this was his last effort. Interesting.

Coopmv · April 25, 2009, 09:07:54 PM

My sense is, after the departure of Esa-Pekka Salonen, LAPO will meet the same fate as the Houston Symphony after Eschenbach's departure - kind of fade away. There are just not many world-class conductors who want to move to either Houston or LA ...

CRCulver · April 26, 2009, 01:20:18 AM

Quote from: Coopmv on April 25, 2009, 09:07:54 PM
My sense is, after the departure of Esa-Pekka Salonen, LAPO will meet the same fate as the Houston Symphony after Eschenbach's departure - kind of fade away. There are just not many world-class conductors who want to move to either Houston or LA ...

Salonen's great success was making modern and modernist-inspired repertoire sexy for subscriber audiences. Not only am I certain that Dudamel will abandon all those gains, but I fear that Dudamel will be unable to resist going down the road of classical crossover.

Senta · April 26, 2009, 02:36:44 AM

In the conductor world (and in the world in general), the cult of personality is still very, very strong. Salonen does have his detractors, but it is certainly true that he is an all-around musician, and he created his own personal "brand" in L.A. which he used for good to achieve a few important things: to raise the visibility of classical music in the city, give it a great new home, and get people in the seats consistently to hear contemporary/new music. Truly it seems he changed the face of classical music for the future in a major way in the city, which is a tall legacy.

Dudamel has the cult of personality, and he's got talent, but can he leave such a lasting mark? It almost seems impossible considering. The one area which he *might* be able to really do something is in their new Youth Orchestra of L.A. project, modeled on El Sistema, for the L.A. inner city youth. If he can get those kids fired up about playing classical music and out of gangs, that would be an excellent and much hoped for accomplishment. In other areas, he is going to need a good deal of guidance, specifically in new music, to get up to speed and do well.

QuoteMy sense is, after the departure of Esa-Pekka Salonen, LAPO will meet the same fate as the Houston Symphony after Eschenbach's departure - kind of fade away. There are just not many world-class conductors who want to move to either Houston or LA ...

Houston needs new leadership right now (and a new hall.) They being the local band, I have seen them countless times with Hans Graf and other guests. He is actually a very skilled conductor, and rather amiable too, but they have lost their spark together. He sounds better on broadcasts with other orchestras, and they play with more passion under guests. They are still an excellent orchestra, but often play with little inspiration for their MD. Rarely, as in their Mahler 2 last year, you do see a glimpse of it and remember how good they can be. Couldn't be more different than their Dallas counterparts who played for Van Zweden like their life depended on it when I saw his first season concert this year. That made me realize exactly what was missing.

Eschenbach really did have the cult of personality down here - he was imposing, controversial, and also revered. I am convinced he could have remained here easily another decade, and maybe even gotten a campaign for a hall pushed through. The musicmaking, if uneven, at least wasn't boring and predictable when he was around. One big thing the orchestra did have with him was a contract with Telarc, and most of all once that was gone, their visibility went too..

Archaic Torso of Apollo · April 26, 2009, 02:53:33 AM

Quote from: Senta on April 26, 2009, 02:36:44 AM
Eschenbach really did have the cult of personality down here - he was imposing, controversial, and also revered. I am convinced he could have remained here easily another decade, and maybe even gotten a campaign for a hall pushed through. The musicmaking, if uneven, at least wasn't boring and predictable when he was around. One big thing the orchestra did have with him was a contract with Telarc, and most of all once that was gone, their visibility went too..

Back when I was still in Chicago I used to hear Eschenbach a lot, as he was director of the Ravinia Festival. He gave a lot of great concerts with the CSO, and I wouldn't have minded if they'd given him the top job. Sure, he could be uneven, but as you say neither boring nor predictable. It's a shame the Phila. job didn't work out for him.

Coopmv · April 26, 2009, 04:05:44 AM

Quote from: Senta on April 26, 2009, 02:36:44 AM

Eschenbach really did have the cult of personality down here - he was imposing, controversial, and also revered. I am convinced he could have remained here easily another decade, and maybe even gotten a campaign for a hall pushed through. The musicmaking, if uneven, at least wasn't boring and predictable when he was around. One big thing the orchestra did have with him was a contract with Telarc, and most of all once that was gone, their visibility went too..

I attended the last concert conducted by Eschenbach in Houston and have no doubt the Houstonians would have loved to see him stay given the level of enthusiasm they had for him. However, few conductors will turn down an offer from the storied Philadelphia Orchestra. Unfortunately, Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra just never hit it off. It reminds me of the stormy relation Karajan had with the BPO just before the end of his life ...

The Six · April 26, 2009, 03:17:19 PM

Salonen had some good programs, but he could have gone even farther with the contemporary works, I think. I have no idea what Dudamel will be programming, as I haven't had enough money to even look at these things.

There's still a lot of good stuff at Disney Hall, and at the school across the street, as far as modern music goes. They got that Green Umbrella in the basement, and the Monday Evening Concert series.

Brian · April 27, 2009, 06:45:41 PM

Quote from: Senta on April 26, 2009, 02:36:44 AM
Dudamel has the cult of personality, and he's got talent, but can he leave such a lasting mark? It almost seems impossible considering. The one area which he *might* be able to really do something is in their new Youth Orchestra of L.A. project, modeled on El Sistema, for the L.A. inner city youth. If he can get those kids fired up about playing classical music and out of gangs, that would be an excellent and much hoped for accomplishment. In other areas, he is going to need a good deal of guidance, specifically in new music, to get up to speed and do well.

I think Dudamel needs to bring his Latin music with him: all the Castellanos, Revueltas, Carreno, Ponce, Marquez, Romero, Ginastera, Villa Lobos, Chavez, Assad and Gismonti he can get his hands on. Now that's a great way to both give audiences something altogether new and altogether great, and to introduce a whole world of music to the standard repertoire. Dudamel is in a perfect position to make a major impact on classical music not just in Los Angeles but everywhere by finally giving Central and South American music of the 20th and 21st centuries its due, and I hope that he chooses not to cave to other temptations but instead seizes the opportunity for all it's worth.

Incidentally, Dudamel is a very fine conductor, on the whole. Once he gets people into concert halls, he'll keep them there.